Increased expression of vascular endothelin type B and angiotensin type 1 receptors in patients with ischemic heart disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Endothelin-1 and angiotensin II are strong vasoconstrictors. Patients with ischemic heart disease have elevated plasma levels of endothelin-1 and angiotensin II and show increased vascular tone. The aim of the present study was to examine the endothelin and angiotensin II receptor expression in subcutaneous arteries from patients with different degrees of ischemic heart disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Subcutaneous arteries were obtained, by biopsy from the abdomen, from patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery because of ischemic heart disease (n = 15), patients with angina pectoris without established myocardial infarction (n = 15) and matched cardiovascular healthy controls (n = 15). Endothelin type A (ET_A) and type B (ET_B), and angiotensin type 1 (AT₁) and type 2 (AT₂) receptors expression and function were examined using immunohistochemistry, Western blot and <it>in vitro </it>pharmacology.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>ET_Aand, to a lesser extent, ET_Breceptor staining was observed in the healthy vascular smooth muscle cells. The level of ET_Breceptor expression was higher in patients undergoing CABG surgery (250% ± 23%; P < 0.05) and in the patients with angina pectoris (199% ± 6%; P < 0.05), than in the healthy controls (100% ± 28%). The data was confirmed by Western blotting. Arteries from CABG patients showed increased vasoconstriction upon administration of the selective ET_Breceptor agonist sarafotoxin S6c, compared to healthy controls (P < 0.05). No such difference was found for the ET_Areceptors. AT₁and, to a lesser extent, AT₂receptor immunostaining was seen in the vascular smooth muscle cells. The level of AT₁receptor expression was higher in both the angina pectoris (128% ± 25%; P < 0.05) and in the CABG patients (203% ± 41%; P < 0.05), as compared to the healthy controls (100% ± 25%). The increased AT₁receptor expression was confirmed by Western blotting. Myograph experiment did however not show any change in vasoconstriction to angiotensin II in CABG patients compared to healthy controls (P = n.s).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results demonstrate, for the first time, upregulation of ET_Band AT₁receptors in vascular smooth muscle cells in ischemic heart disease. These receptors may play a role in the pathophysiology of ischemic heart disease and could provide important targets for pharmaceutical interventions.</p

Multi-Criteria Analysis Framework for Potential Flood Prone Areas Mapping

A fundamental component of the European natural disaster management policy is the detection of potential flood-prone areas, which is directly connected to the European Directive (2007/60). This study presents a framework for mapping potential flooding areas incorporating geographic information systems (GIS), fuzzy logic and clustering techniques, and multi-criteria evaluation methods. Factors are divided in different groups which do not have the same level of trade off. These groups are related to geophysical, morphological, climatological/meteorological and hydrological characteristics of the basin as well as to anthropogenic land use. GIS and numerical simulation are used for geographic data acquisition and processing. The selected factor maps are considered in order to estimate the spatial distribution of the potential flood prone areas. Using these maps, the study area is classified into five categories of flood vulnerable areas. The Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) techniques consist of the crisp and fuzzy analytical hierarchy processes (AHP) and are enhanced with different standardization methods. The classification is based on different clustering techniques and it is applied in two approaches. In the first approach, all criteria are normalized before the MCA process and then, the clustering techniques are applied to derive the final flood prone area maps. In the second approach, the criteria are clustered before and after the MCA process for the potential flood prone area mapping. The methodology is demonstrated in Xerias River watershed, Thessaly region, Greece. Xerias River floodplain was repeatedly flooded in the last few years. These floods had major impacts on agricultural areas, transportation networks and infrastructure. Historical flood inundation data has been used for the validation of the methodology. Results show that multiple MCA techniques should be taken into account in initial low-cost detection surveys of flood-prone areas and/or in preliminary analysis of flood hazard mapping